Archive for July, 2016

A lot happened after the last post from guest writer Heidi Gaul. Those challenging times are over, I hope. Since I am practicing “no complaining” I’ll share the upside of gardening during the past weeks.

When I visited a dear friend in Shenandoah Valley, I took three photographs. Usually, when I’m in a beautiful garden, like my friend’s, I can’t stop taking pictures. But we don’t see each other often and she is such a lovely person, that I wanted to spend the short visit with her.

During the past weeks, I managed to stop in at the local garden center, twice, at Lowes. The first time, I didn’t buy anything, but found their large selection of succulents impressive.

The second time at Lowes, I bought a flat of annual vinca.

The flowerbed is small, and has a split personality. Plants love the north half of the bed, but not the south half. Even though I amended the soil, studied the water intake and sun exposure, I lost six or eight vincas. Those remaining are much smaller than the ones in the photo, planted on the north half. I can’t figure out the problem. But I know from past experiences, I’ll find plants that will thrive throughout the flowerbed.